AP PhotoFirefighters work to extinguish a gasoline tanker explosion on interstate 75 north of Detroit in Hazel Park, Mich. on Wednesday.

HAZEL PARK -- Police say evasive action by two alert truck drivers prevented further devastation after a car lost control on a Detroit area highway and caused an accident that led to a fuel tanker explosion and overpass collapse.

A two-mile stretch of Interstate 75 just north of Detroit remains closed Thursday morning, a day after the 8 p.m. accident left three drivers with minor injuries. Plan your alternate route.

Trooper Charles Kemp of the Michigan State Police North Post tells the Detroit Free Press a 27-year-old Clawson man apparently lost control of his car while driving about 70 mph along a curve with a suggested speed limit of 50 mph.

Freep.com, July 16: He swerved into the tanker truck, driven by a 45-year-old Armada man. The cab and the trailer separated as the tanker, carrying 9,600 gallons of gasoline and 4,600 gallons of diesel fuel crashed, Kemp said.

But the 38-year-old Monroe man driving the Meijer semi tractor-trailer saw what was happening, moved over to give the tanker room and was able to avoid an even more devastating crash, said Kemp, who declined to release names or the tanker company.

"The guy in the Meijer's vehicle observed what was going on, so he was making some arrangement to reposition his vehicle, so the tanker could reposition his vehicle to avoid things," Kemp said. "That's why it's important to be very observant of your surroundings. If a person's not paying attention to things, they do not know how to react."

Witness describes scene and video he took

The tanker was carrying an estimated 13,000 gallons of fuel. Flames and black, billowing plumes of smoke reached 150 to 200 feet into the air before the fire was extinguished after nearly three hours.